1919 Wheat Penny Value Guide

The 1919 Wheat Penny Value

1919 wheat pennies show some differences in value across minting locations, with San Francisco being worth the most. This is particularly true in the mint-state grades.

Of the coin’s 3 special designations (red, red-brown, and brown), red is worth the most, then red-brown, and brown last.

An N/A for a value below indicates no publicly known examples of that version of the 1919 wheat penny with that grade, or no value information (or not enough) exists for it yet.

Additionally, all values are conservative estimates based on research. Please note all values are subject to change due to the market or circumstances unaccounted for during research and publication. We always recommend doing further research or consulting with a professional.

Melt Value

The 1919 wheat penny’s melt value is approximately negligible. The melt value will fluctuate with the market.

Circulation Strike Value Chart – Brown Coins (BN)

	Coin Names And Coin Values
Grade Names	1919 Brown Wheat Penny	1919-D Brown Wheat Penny	1919-S Brown Penny
Good – G BN	$0.61	$0.67	$1
Very Good – VG BN	$0.64	$1	$1
Fine – F BN	$0.70	$2	$2
Very Fine – VF BN	$1	$9	$4
Extra Fine – XF BN	$3	$22	$15
About Uncirculated – AU BN	$6-$13	$36-$67	$23-$47
Mint State – MS BN	$19-$87 (65)	$77-$950 (66)	$65-$507 (65)

Circulation Strike Value Chart – Red-Brown Coins (RB)

	Coin Names And Coin Values
Grade Names	1919 Red-Brown Wheat Penny	1919-D Red-Brown Wheat Penny	1919-S Red-Brown Penny
MS 60 RB	N/A	$90	$70
MS 61 RB	$27	$100	$85
MS 62 RB	$35	$135	$120
MS 63 RB	$53	$217	$187
MS 64 RB	$88	$305	$462
MS 65 RB	$117	$1,200	$1,100
MS 66 RB	$260	$1,700	$2,000
MS 67 RB	N/A	N/A	N/A
MS 68 RB	N/A	N/A	N/A
MS 69 RB	N/A	N/A	N/A
MS 70 RB	N/A	N/A	N/A

Circulation Strike Value Chart – Red Coins (RD)

	Coin Names And Coin Values
Grade Names	1919 Red Wheat Penny	1919-D Red Wheat Penny	1919-S Red Penny
MS 60 RD	N/A	N/A	N/A
MS 61 RD	N/A	N/A	N/A
MS 62 RD	$38	$207	$177
MS 63 RD	$63	$317	$425
MS 64 RD	$130	$512	$1,100
MS 65 RD	$252	$1,600	$9,000
MS 66 RD	$617	$5,400	$43,000
MS 67 RD	$1,700	$43,000	N/A
MS 68 RD	$12,000	N/A	N/A
MS 69 RD	N/A	N/A	N/A
MS 70 RD	N/A	N/A	N/A

What Makes A 1919 Wheat Penny Valuable?

The following factors make 1919 wheat pennies valuable:

• Grading
• The rarity of some versions
• Mint marks
• Special designations
• And error coins

Let’s start with grading.

Grading

Grading is an important factor for a 1919 wheat penny’s value. However, you won’t see significant increases for brown 1919 wheat pennies until the later about-uncirculated and all mint-state grades.

It’s a different story for the red-brown and red 1919 wheat pennies. They are valuable at any grade, reaching into the thousands of dollars by the mid mint-state grades.

Rarity

The Mint minted 1919 wheat pennies approximately 588,935,000 times across all of its versions. Please see the following list for the breakdown for each version:

• 1919: 392,021,000 minted in Philadelphia^1,2
• 1919-D: 57,154,000 minted in Denver^5,6
• 1919-S: 139,760,000 minted in San Francisco^10,13

Overall, the high minting amount of the 1919 wheat penny doesn’t make it rare or add to its value.

Mint Marks

The 1919 wheat penny has 3 minting locations:

• Philadelphia (no mint mark)^1,2
• Denver (“D” mint mark)^5,6
• San Francisco (“S” mint mark)^9,10

In most cases, Denver pennies are worth more than the other two. Often, the difference in value isn’t significant, but it’s still noticeable.

Strike Types

The 1919 wheat penny only has the circulation strike type.^14-15 Usually, the circulation strike type doesn’t add value to a coin, which is true for this penny as well.

Design Variations

The 1919 wheat penny has no design variations.

Special Designations

The 1919 wheat penny has 3 special designations, all surrounding color. This is true for all copper pennies. The colors are red, red-brown, and brown.^1-12

Red is always the most valuable, then red-brown, followed by brown.

Error Coins

1919 wheat penny errors include the following:¹⁶

• Struck off-center errors
• Major die break errors
• Broadstrike errors
• Wrong cent planchet errors

Of these, the wrong cent planchet errors are the most valuable. They add at least hundreds of dollars in value to this penny.

The rest add between tens and hundreds of dollars in value.

Die Varieties

Unusually, the 1919 wheat penny does not appear to have any die varieties. They could exist, but they are not currently unknown, and it’s unlikely with this much passage of time.

If someone discovered them, they would likely be quite valuable.

Composition

1919 wheat pennies are 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. This does not add to the coin’s value. Even if it did, we recommend against melting coins down, as coins are worth more intact for their melted-down metals.

How Do You Know If You Have A Valuable 1919 Wheat Penny?

The best way to know if you have a valuable 1919 wheat penny (or any coin) and to get that value out of it is to have it professionally certified.

However, you can look for many elements to get you started in determining what coin you have.

Let’s start with grading.

Grading

Generally, you’re looking for fewer signs of wear and imperfections when it comes to grading. In fact, a coin must show no signs of wear to qualify for the mint-state grades.

Mint Marks

To find your 1919 wheat penny’s mint mark, look on its obverse side. Specifically, look under the year. 

No letter there means Philadelphia minted the coin.

A small “D” means Denver minted the coin.

A small “S” means San Francisco minted the coin.

Strike Types

You won’t need to look for anything specific with your 1919 wheat penny since only circulation-strike coins exist. 

However, as with grading, look for coins with fewer imperfections and sharper details. These are signs of a better circulation strike.

Design Variations

The 1919 wheat penny has no design variations.

Special Designations

A coin-grading body will have to determine what kind of color special designation your 1919 wheat penny qualifies for. You can get a head start on this, but they’ll have to certify it.

All copper pennies start with a red color upon minting. To qualify for this designation, a penny must have almost all of this color remaining. 

Over time, the color starts to fade with use and exposure to the air. Pennies retaining some or most of their original red color qualify for the red-brown designation. Pennies retaining almost none or none of their original red color qualify for the brown designation.

Most pennies are brown.

Error Coins

To determine a struck off-center error, look at your 1919 wheat penny’s design. To qualify for this error, the design should, quite literally, be off-center. 

Typically, coin-grading bodies express this as a percentage. 10% is somewhat off-center, while 30% is a fair amount off-center. 

This can result in an incomplete coin design, depending on the severity of the off-centering.

Major die break errors require two elements. One is the die break, which is a raised piece of metal on a coin’s surface. Some die breaks are small, so a major die break requires some size to fall into that category.

Broadstrike errors are relatively easy to determine because your coin will be larger than normal. Essentially, the Mint will have accidentally struck it without a collar. Collars limit a coin’s size. So, without one, the metal can expand beyond normal.

Wrong cent planchet errors occur when the Mint strikes a coin on a planchet intended for a different type of coin. For example, this error happens when the Mint strikes a nickel on a penny or a penny on a dime.

So, your coin will be unusually large, might have an incomplete design, and may also be a different color.

Die Varieties

While there are no known 1919 wheat penny die varieties, you can still look for common elements that are in die varieties.

These include:

• Doubling: when one or more elements appear more than once on a coin
• Repunched mint marks: you’ll see one mint mark and another, fainter one slightly off-set from that one
• Unusual mint marks: the mint mark will be off in some way, such as being smaller or larger

These are by no means the only factors that determine die varieties. 

In general, if you see something unusual with your coin, get a professional to certify it.

Additional Information About The 1919 Wheat Penny

History

There’s nothing particularly notable about the 1919 wheat penny’s history. This was the year following the end of World War I, but this didn’t seem to have any relevance or effect on the penny. 

However, the 1919 wheat penny is part of the wheat penny series, which began in 1909 and continued until 1982. 

The penny is notable for depicting President Abraham Lincoln. In fact, 1909 was the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Two strips of wheat adorn the coin’s reverse side, giving it its name.

The Coin’s Obverse Side

President Abraham Lincoln’s right-facing profile dominates the obverse side of the 1919 wheat penny. The words “In God We Trust” curve along the rim above his head. The word “Liberty” is to his left, and the year “1919” is to his right.

No mint mark beneath the year indicates you have a Philadelphia coin. A “D” or an “S” indicates you have a Denver or San Francisco coin.

^{Sources: 1-2,5-6,9-10}

The Coin’s Reverse Side

The words “One Cent” and “United States Of America” dominate the center of the 1919 wheat penny’s reverse side. Two strips of wheat curve around on them on either side.

The words “E Pluribus Unum” curve above them along the rim. These are Latin for “Out of many, one,” the United States Motto. 

^{Sources: 1-2}

Sources

1919 Wheat Penny Value Guide Sources